somewhere in between
by downn-in-flames
Summary: When Scorpius imagined all the ways he could possible come out to his dad, this was definitely not on the list.


Scorpius' left knee bounces uncontrollably when he's feeling anxious.

It's a nervous habit of his – some uncontrollable energy that forces its way out through this restless movement. He was basically in motion throughout the entirety of his OWLs; he's pretty sure one of the exam administrators cast a Silencing charm on the floor beneath him at one point.

But that's nothing compared to what it's doing now. He feels a bit bad for his friends, who are forced to share a compartment with him on the ride to King's Cross.

Suddenly, the motion of his knee is forcibly halted by the presence of a familiar hand.

"Scorpius, calm down," Al says. "You're rattling the whole compartment."

Scorpius feels blood rush to his face. He's so painfully fair-skinned that any sort of blush refuses to stop at his cheeks and instead turns his whole face pink.

"Sorry," he responds. "I'm just… really nervous, I guess."

Al laughs – it's one of Scorpius' favourite sounds in the whole world, so it serves to calm him down at least a little bit. "If anyone's going to be nervous in this situation," Al tells him, "it going to be me. I mean, _I'm_ the one meeting your dad as your boyfriend for the first time. And on a vacation in France, no less. So if I'm not freaking out, you're not allowed to either."

Scorpius manages a shaky grin at that. "I'm surprised you _aren't_ freaking out, honestly."

Al shrugs. "Parents love me."

To his credit, Al isn't really wrong. He's got the type of sweet-talking personality that makes him an instant favourite of all the Hogwarts professors, even when he's trying to talk his way out of detention. Scorpius knows that, objectively, his dad already likes Albus anyways.

But there's the minor fact that Scorpius is introducing Al to his dad as his boyfriend. And his dad doesn't even know that Scorpius is gay to begin with.

And Scorpius still isn't quite sure how his dad will feel about all of that. He knows his dad doesn't believe in most of the pureblood prejudices that he grew up with, but they've never really talked about… this.

Pureblood society – the society his dad grew up in – never really dealt with sexuality. Marriages were arranged anyways, so what did it even matter if you were attracted to men or women? Marriage was a strategic move, not an emotional one.

Scorpius knows that his dad isn't the type to kick him out for being gay. What he's worried about, instead, is disappointing him. Disappointing him because his son being gay means he won't be able to continue on the Malfoy line. And as much as his dad likes to act like his pureblooded history doesn't mean a lot to him, Scorpius knows it does.

And Scorpius realizes he's being extremely unfair to his boyfriend by not telling him all of this. He really owes Al a proper explanation of the situation he's about to be walking into. Especially because Scorpius' extended silence means that Al is giving him a confused and somewhat-hurt look.

So Scorpius looks up at their other two compartment mates, attempting to silently communicate the question – _can Al and I have some time alone, please?_

Xavier, perceptive boy that he is, catches Scorpius' unspoken message. "Oi, Ethan, let's go try to find the trolley lady."

"But I'm not hungry," Ethan replies, oblivious to the nonverbal communication that just occurred between Scorpius and Xavier.

Xavier decides to take matters into his own hands. " _Let's go_ ," he says, a bit more forcefully this time, with a not-so-subtle look at Scorpius and Al.

The other boy finally gets the message – or maybe, perhaps the wrong one, given the eyebrow waggle he gives Scorpius – but it's enough to get him to jump up and follow Xavier out of the compartment.

Once they're alone in the compartment, Al looks at Scorpius – really looks at him – and his emerald green eyes betray the most vulnerability Scorpius has ever seen in them.

"Are you ashamed of me?" he asks quietly.

Scorpius can't get the denial out fast enough – they rush out so quickly that he's practically tripping over them. "No! Not at all! I could never be ashamed of you! Never, never, never!"

"Then what is it?"

"It's just… it didn't seem like a good conversation to have over letters, you know? 'Hey Dad, classes are going great, oh and by the way, I'm gay and I'm dating Albus Potter.' And then he asked if I wanted to bring someone with us on our France vacation, and _of course_ I wanted to bring you, so I owled him back and said I was bringing my 'significant other' because that seemed like a nice gender-neutral term."

His leg is bouncing again. "I wasn't thinking about the fact that I'll literally be giving him an hour warning that the person he's probably expecting to be my girlfriend is actually my boyfriend and he's… you."

Al cracks a grin. "Yeah, that might be worse. Scorp, for all that you usually think through everything, this has to be one of your most poorly-thought-out ideas yet."

Scorpius bites his lip. What if his dad changes his mind? What if, after he tells his dad that it's Albus who's coming with them, his dad says he can't come anymore? What if –

Al's hand is on his knee again, and his other hand comes up to turn Scorpius' cheek towards his own. "Hey, it's going to be fine," Al says, more serious now.

Somewhere deep down, Scorpius knows that. But he's been told he's always a bit more worrisome than necessary, so objectively _knowing_ that it'll be fine doesn't do much to quell the anxiety bubbling in his stomach.

He just keeps seeing his dad's 'disappointed' expression flash through his mind – the same one he used when Scorpius accidentally flew into his mum's favourite blackthorn tree and knocked off one of the branches last summer. He hates the idea that something about him – something he's come to realize he has absolutely no control over – could cause that same reaction.

But there's something in Al's expressive eyes that's so incredibly sincere, that Scorpius really has no choice but to feel at least somewhat comforted.

"Okay," Scorpius responds with a nod. "It's going to be fine."

"Just promise me you'll talk to your dad _before_ I get there, alright?"

"I promise."

* * *

Talking to his dad is easier said than done, Scorpius soon realizes.

First of all, because his dad is positively overflowing with questions as soon as he spots Scorpius on the platform. Scorpius wouldn't usually characterize his dad as a talkative person, but he does think his dad gets lonely when Scorpius is gone during the school year.

"How are classes? Potions isn't giving you too much trouble anymore, is it?"

"Classes are fine, really," Scorpius answers. "I'm still second, and I've got a solid E in Potions right now."

"And Quidditch?"

"Same as always. We've got a pretty lousy team this year, so we're just trying to stay in third at this point."

All of this information has already been communicated in his and his dad's weekly letters, but there's something different about sharing all this information in person. And when Scorpius is at school, he's pretty sure his dad only ever really talks to his work colleagues.

They Apparate home. The house is definitely bigger than what two people realistically need, but it's nothing compared to the sprawling monstrosity that was Scorpius' grandparents' house. This place is much more open, and his dad's decorating style is much less… dark.

The second obstacle is that, as soon as they get home, Scorpius instantly finds himself in an unpacking and repacking frenzy. The clothes required for a week in the south of France are very different from the clothes required for months in Scotland.

Once he's got a case packed with all the essentials – swimming trunks, sandals, sunblock potion, and the like – he goes to find his dad. Al is set to be coming over soon, and Scorpius would very much like to have this conversation with his dad _before_ his boyfriend shows up at the door.

His father is, predictably, sitting in the dining room. Ever since Scorpius' mum passed away, his dad had taken to using the dining room table as an office instead of his study. He claims it's because there was better light out here. Scorpius knows it's also because his dad knew he wasn't going to be throwing any dinner parties anytime soon, and this room reminds him of all the parties she'd hosted here. His mum was always the more social one.

"Dad?"

On cue, his dad looks up from the report he's reading. "You all packed, Scorp?"

Scorpius nods.

"And when can I expect this 'significant other' of yours to be showing up?"

Scorpius really couldn't have asked for a better window of opportunity to initiate this conversation. "Yeah, Dad, about that…"

His dad's eyes go wide. "Oh no, did you two break up? Or – "

"No, nothing like that!" Scorpius quickly amends. "I just – this… 'significant other' of mine… well, it's – "

And at the worst possible moment, the doorbell rings.

Oh, bugger. Bugger, bugger, bugger. Scorpius _promised_ Al that he'd have this conversation over with before he showed up.

"I'll get that." His dad stands up, and starts to move towards the door.

Scorpius instantly starts to think of all the disasters could occur once his dad opens that door to find Al standing there. He would physically block his dad from getting to the door if he could, but unfortunately, his dad is much closer to it than he is.

So he settles for what he now sees as the only option.

"It's Al! Albus Potter! That's my 'significant other'! Or, boyfriend, really, I guess."

When Scorpius imagined all the ways he could possible come out to his dad, this was _definitely_ not on the list.

His dad freezes, and there's a moment where he doesn't do anything. Scorpius' heart is pounding in his chest – if he was sitting, he's sure his knee would be bouncing up a storm – as he waits for some sort of reaction.

He's almost immediately expecting that pursed-lips-followed-by-long-sigh expression of disappointment, especially because he's chosen such an abrupt manner of revealing this new information, but that's not what he gets. Instead, his dad's lips curl into a soft smile.

"You know, I kind of expected that."

And now Scorpius is the one frozen in shock, mouth opening and closing a few times like a goldfish. He stays there, glued in place, while his dad crosses the rest of the distance to the front door and opens it.

He… expected that?

How could his dad have expected anything? Scorpius hadn't even expected his and Al's relationship – not until it was already happening and everything kind of clicked into place all at once.

Scorpius wants to ask his dad what exactly he means, but he can't – at least, not now, because his dad is greeting Al and generally acting like Scorpius _didn't_ just make a major announcement.

"Hello, Albus. Nice to see you again."

Scorpius can't even see his boyfriend yet, but he can tell that Al has his 'good first impression' face on. "Hi, Mr. Malfoy, it's a pleasure. Thank you for inviting me."

"It's funny – we were actually _just_ talking about you." Dad gives him a look that can only be described as a smirk, and Scorpius briefly wonders if one of the Pumpkin Pasties he ate on the train ride was laced with Befuddlement Draught, because this was _not_ how he anticipated his father would react.

Al crosses the threshold and finally comes into Scorpius' line of vision. "Oh, were you?" he says, raising an eyebrow at Scorpius.

Scorpius feels his cheeks heat up – are Al and his dad both in on the same joke? Why are they both giving him that look?

"Yes," Dad responds. "I was actually just about to ask Scorp how you two got together."

Scorpius finally figures out how to use his feet again, and goes to help Al with his bag.

"It's a funny story, honestly," Al answers, grinning.

"Well, you'll have to tell it to me once we get to Villefranche. Our Portkey is almost set to leave – Scorpius, do you have your bag?"

"It's in the sitting room."

"Well then, we should be off," Dad says, and the mischievous look still hasn't left his eye.

Scorpius is still massively confused by this sequence of events.

* * *

Scorpius doesn't get a chance to talk to his dad alone until much later that night. They'd settled into their villa and gotten dinner from a nearby pub. Al, as Scorpius predicted, was just as charming at dinner as always.

Albus had told Dad the full story of how his and Scorpius's relationship started – how they'd both danced around feelings that neither of them really understood for months until the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff where Al celebrated Slytherin's one and only victory of the term by running up to Scorpius and kissing him in the middle of the pitch – and his dad had, once again, seemed completely content with that turn of events.

Scorpius still doesn't really know what to think.

It's a few hours later, and Al has already fallen asleep in the room they're sharing, so Scorpius tip-toes downstairs and out onto the balcony overlooking the water.

His dad has always been a night owl – even more so after Mum died – so it's not even remotely surprising to Scorpius that his dad is sitting out there, watching the waves come in.

This time, Scorpius doesn't bother with preamble.

"What did you mean, when you said you 'expected that' after I told you about Al?"

His dad jumps a little at the sound of Scorpius' voice, but his expression relaxes as soon as he identifies its source.

For the second time today, Scorpius' dad smiles in response. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno," Scorpius answers, and he drops into the seat next to Dad. His knee immediately begins to bounce. "I told you I'm gay. I thought you'd be more… surprised, or disappointed, or _something_."

His dad laughs. "As your father, I like to think I know you pretty well, Scorpius. And I think I've had that one figured out for a while now."

"I think you've got Parental Legilimency," Scorpius provides. He's only just come up with the term, and he's rather proud of it.

"Maybe a little bit of that," his dad says. "And there was also this time when you were five that you sat your mother and I down and told us that, while you were still skeptical about marriage in general, if you had to get married, you'd choose Benjy Chester from your primary school class because he had nice eyes."

"I said that?"

Dad smiles. "I'm pretty sure those were your exact words. So that was my first hint."

"But you weren't even surprised that it was Al. Who's been my friend since first year."

"That was actually the easier part, really," his dad answers. "When you said you wanted to bring someone, I knew that meant it must've been serious – it wouldn't be someone you'd only just started seeing. But dating a friend… the rules are different there. So I figured it probably had to be Albus."

Scorpius is slightly in awe of his dad's analysis of the whole situation.

"And just so you know, Scorpius, I would _never_ be disappointed in you for something like this. I'm happy that you're happy."

The last bits of tension in Scorpius' shoulders start to unravel. It strikes him, in that moment, how perfect everything in his life is right now – or at least, everything that matters. He's on holiday with his two favourite people in the world; not to mention, they both get on well and seem to actually like one another. And once he's done talking with his dad, he gets to go crawl into bed with his adorable (and surprisingly snuggly) boyfriend.

His heart could burst from contentment alone at this point.

"I love you, Dad," Scorpius says.

His dad reaches out and squeezes Scorpius' hand. "I love you too."

They sit in peaceful stillness for a little longer, watching the ocean's movements by the pale glow of the moonlight.

Scorpius' knee isn't even bouncing.

* * *

 **A/N: The three prompts for this challenge were a vacation, meeting the family, and something Pride-related, and I really wanted to write Super Perceptive Dad Draco™, so this happened.**


End file.
